Sacramento, California, USA
The St. Clare, formerly the Capitol Park Hotel, is a welcoming, safe, and a place of hope for Sacramento’s homeless community. The project, financed in part with Federal Historic Tax Credit funding, rehabilitates a pair of hotel buildings (1911 and 1912) that had been combined into a single hotel in the 1930s, into134 one-bedroom apartments with community gathering spaces, and on-site counseling offices, laundry facilities, and management offices in downtown Sacramento.
The Saint Clare at Capitol Park by Page & Turnbull, received an 2025 American Architecture Honourable Mention from The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design.
The project includes 3,300 SF of ground-level, sidewalk-accessible retail shops totaling, a restored canopy, and new curb landscaping designed as part of a stormwater management system. St. Clare is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places and California Register of Historic Resources and as an individual landmark on the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources. The property historically significant for its association with the development of the blocks around the State Capitol Building and K Street as the core of Sacramento’s commercial downtown in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and as a representative example of an Italian Renaissance style mixed-use building designed by master architect Seadler & Hoen.
Many historic elements were retained, repaired, and minimally modified to meet code requirements. The façade was fully rehabilitated to it 1910s appearance. Deteriorated wood single-pane windows were replaced in-kind with similar-looking thermal and sound efficient double-paned windows. Other retained original elements include the historic double-volume lobby’s black and white tile mosaic floor and historic stairs.
The St. Clare was seismically strengthened to address structural deficiencies associated with its unreinforced masonry construction, ground-floor soft story, and connections between the two conjoined buildings. The building was updated to meet current code and fire and life safety standards. Circulation complied with both contemporary accessibility requirements and the Secretary’s Standards. Hallways were widened, historic handrails were raised, and additional handrails were added. A pair of elevators were added.
For the City of Sacramento, the rehabilitated St. Clare helps to preserve an important part of the City’s history and architecture, while helping to revitalize the City’s urban core.
Architects: Page & Turnbull, Inc.
Design Team: Peter Birkholz, Rick Feldman, and Todd Smith
General Contractor: Midstate Construction Corporation
Client: Mercy Housing of California
Photographers: Bruce Damonte & Patrik Argast
